Games of Fate
by Agas Spenjahgra VII
Summary: With the rise of Ahriman and his daevas, the debts of the past have to be resolved. The pieces are in place, and Rhen is the catalyst to set what has been prophesied in motion. Aveyond 1 half-retelling half-AU.
1. Prologue

A/N: I once had a story called "Once Upon a Dream". It was originally written as a big joke, but it went out of hand. Now I am rewriting that story under a different title. Hopefully it's more sensible than the old story.

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><p><span>Prologue<span>

_40 years earlier_

"Oracle, it has been more than five hundred years. Is it wise to let this continue?"  
>"We all know it would be nothing for you to intervene."<br>The oracle looked at the two druids before her. The druid of darkness looked agitated, almost to the point of madness. The druid of light was not as frantic, but worry was evident in his expression. She sighed. She understood their dilemma, but what could she do? There was only so much she could tell without breaking the rules of the universe – her _own_ rules and she can not break them at all cost.  
>"Rashnu, Akoman, I'm afraid I cannot do anything," she told them.<br>"Oracle – " Rashnu began to say, but she held up her hand and stopped him.  
>"Listen to me carefully now," the oracle said quietly, "This is the most that I could allow myself to say:<br>_Born of the two worlds, protected by the sun  
>The bearer of the light is the key<br>The two courts shall have their peace once more  
>When the two swords are united against darkness<em>  
>It is not much, I admit, but to reveal more would spell disaster."<br>"The two swords?" Akoman asked, frowning, "You don't mean...?"  
>"That is nigh impossible, oracle!" Rashnu exclaimed. "Is there not another way?"<br>The oracle shook her head. "I only speak of what I have seen. All you can do now is wait for time to tell the truth."  
>She could tell that neither druid received any consolations from her words, and it saddened her heart. Rules are rules, after all. As she watched the two depart her temple, their minds still troubled, she let out a sigh.<br>"Prophecies, without action, are just empty words. It is that action that truly determines the course of fate. I can only hope you make the right choices when the time comes."

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><p>Hate it? Like it? Too much drama? Review, please.<p> 


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Being summoned was something Agas had never experienced, but he quickly learned that it was not a pleasant experience.  
>For one, it was completely unpredictable. He was fortunate that he was only working on his reports when he was summoned. He did not want to think what it would be like if had been summoned when he was, say, taking a bath. Humans tend to forget that some demons do, in fact, take baths. Not that the summoner had any way of knowing what the demons in question was doing at the point of summoning.<br>The other problem with the summoning was that it had felt like he had been swallowed whole and then spat back out. It was uncomfortable, and he was unable to breathe through the process. He was glad that it didn't take long. While he was quite used to suffocation – he constantly had to deal with that every time poison problems broke out in Nanghaithya and Tawrich's _družstvoi_, and that happened very frequently – nobody liked not being able to breath.  
>He had momentarily panicked when the air around him seemed to solidify and crush him, but he remembered the other daevas' accounts on it and soon realized what was happening. Agas relaxed himself as best as he could. He had no idea who could be powerful enough to summon a daeva, but he would not let himself appear flustered.<br>Barely moments after his feet finally touched solid ground again, he saw a jet of light shoot towards him. He instinctively tried to dodge, only to find that he could not move. The light hit him on the chest, and for a split second he was surprised at the lack of impact. The next moment he felt heavy weight encircling his wrists, as if someone had put manacles on them, although there was nothing there.  
>"<em>It's the binding seal,<em>" Agas thought, before he suddenly the dizziness sank in him. His head felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool and he couldn't think straight.  
>Somewhere amidst the haze, he heard someone say, "Welcome to the human world, demon. Do you recognize my voice?"<p>

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><p>Ahriman studied the daeva he had summoned, trying to see how much damage the binding seal had caused. There was one thing Ahriman didn't like about summoning, and it was how the binding seal worked. The seal serves as some sort of a contract for the summoned being to obey the summoner. However, whatever magic the seal did to the being also caused them to lose part of their mind, and with that some of their power and intelligence. This Ahriman knew from first-hand experience. He was thoroughly convinced that the reason he lost to a bunch of useless slugs many years ago was caused by the control that idiotic prince tried to exert on Ahriman. It was like being put on a leash and Ahriman's powers were greatly reduced by the binding seal.<br>Stronger demons could resist the effects of the seal to an extent, but there was no way of knowing how much of it they could curb. The daeva did not seem affected much by the seal, but one cannot be too sure.  
>"Welcome to the human world, demon. Do you recognize my voice?" Ahriman spoke.<br>The daeva looked at him – or at least he _assumed_ the daeva was looking at him, as its eyes were covered – and replied, "Yes, Lord Ahriman. What do you require of me?"  
>Ahriman nodded. The daeva still remembered, and that was good enough. "You are to go to the Dreamland and kill the guardian of dreams," he said. "Do not return before she is dead, understand?"<br>When the daeva made no reaction, he asked again in a louder voice, "I assume you will be able to make your own way there?"  
>The daeva, however, still made no move to acknowledge the questions.<br>He frowned. Had the daeva been affected by the seal _that_ badly? Does that mean that this particular daeva was weak?  
>Just then, the daeva finally spoke, "I understand, sire."<p>

"Then make haste and do it now!"

It nodded, and without another word, Warped away. Staring at the spot the daeva had just been, Ahriman found himself already starting to have doubts about its capability. The binding seemed to have taken a worst toll on its mind than he expected. It should at the very least be able to complete this mission. After all, the daevas weren't lords over _Ashth Pereth_ - the Demon Realm - for nothing. However, a severely-handicapped daeva would not be of much use to him. He would need to be prepared for the worse.

Perhaps he should try to get in touch with that young sun guardian very soon.

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><p>AN: I... Well, I admit this is a rather weird place to start the story, but I thought I'd expand a little on the opening sequence of Av1. Starting with Talia being chased around is a tad over-rated. Something tells me that this scene sounds rather filler-ish, though.

Ahriman referring to Agas as an "it" is on purpose, by the way. Because Ahriman just thinks _that_ highly of himself. And speaking of Ahriman, I don't like his character enough to want to go too in-depth with his personality or try to rationalize his lack of activity. Maybe in later chapters...

Reviews are greatly appreciated.

ETA: Added more expository stuff. I honestly don't know, nor do I care to speculate just when and how did Dameon get involved with Ahriman, but I'm assuming it's quite a while before Aveyond 1 officially started. May or may not go more in-depth with that later. We'll see how it goes.


End file.
